1: one who rides a horse especially as a professional in a race2: one who operates something

How do you use it?

In 2000, Julie Krone became the first female jockey to be inducted into the National Horseracing Hall of Fame.

Are you a word wiz?

What do you think is the source of the word "jockey"?

A. a type of saddle

B. a person's nickname

C. an old French word for "pony"

D. a blacksmith's hammer

B is the winner! "Jockey" comes from the Scottish nickname for "John." In fact, quite a few animals and objects are called after nicknames of people. For example, the word "doll" probably comes from "Doll," a nickname for "Dorothy." "Zany" originally referred to a clown and can be traced back to "Zanni," the nickname for "Giovanni," the Italian form of "John." "Mag" and "Mog," both short for "Margaret," produced the name of the bird called the "magpie" and "moggy," a common term for a cat in England. And a cartoon depicting an incident in which President Theodore Roosevelt spared the life of a bear was the inspiration for the toy called a "teddy bear."